- Born
- Died
- Birth nameJames Alfred Van Allen
- James Van Allen was born on August 7, 1914 in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, USA. He was married to Abigail Fithina Halsey. He died on August 9, 2006 in Iowa City, Iowa, USA.
- SpouseAbigail Fithina Halsey(October 13, 1945 - August 9, 2006) (his death, 5 children)
- In 1987, President Reagan presented Van Allen with the National Medal of Science, the nation's highest honor for scientific achievement. In 1989, he received the Crafoord Prize, awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm each year for scientific research in areas not recognized by the Nobel Prizes.
- Leader in space exploration who discovered the radiation belts surrounding the Earth that now bear his name, known as the Van Allen Belts. The bands spawned a whole new field of research known as magnetospheric physics.
- Taught at the University of Iowa, where the physics and astronomy building now bears his name.
- Was named to the National Academy of Sciences in 1959. He also was a consultant to the U.S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment, NASA and the Space Studies Board of the National Academy of Sciences.
- While a student at Iowa's Wesleyan College, he helped prepare research instruments for the Byrd Antarctic Expedition. He got his master's and Ph.D. from the University of Iowa.
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